Sunday, July 17, 2016

Anoectochilus Blume (1825: 411; Orchidaceae) belongs to subtribe Goodyerinae (Cranichideae; Orchidoideae; Pridgeon et al. 2003). The generic name is derived from the Greek words ‘anoiktos’ (open) and ‘cheilos’ (lip), referring to the flower with prominent lip giving an open appearance (Sumathi et al. 2003, Bhattacharjee 2013). The genus consists of about 30 species according to Genera orchidacearum (Pridgeon et al. 2003), distributed in India and the eastern Himalayas, through southern and southeastern Asia to Australia and the southeastern Pacific islands (Chen et al. 2009). There are 15 species of Anoectochilus in China, eight of which were reported from Yunnan previously (Chen et al. 2009, Chen & Shui 2010, Hu et al. 2012, Ormerod 2013).

A species of Anoectochilus was collected in Yunnan by the authors in 2006 and 2013. On the basis of careful examination and comparison with closely related species (Seidenfaden 1971, 1978, Seidenfaden & Wood 1992, Lang 1999, Averyanov 2008, Chen et al. 2009), it has been confirmed as an undescribed species. This new species is similar to A. zhejiangensis Wei & Chang (1989: 39), which is endemic to China and distributed in central and northern Fujian, northern Guangxi, southwestern Zhejiang (Chen et al. 2009) and northern Guangdong (Tian et al. 2013); it is also close to A. chapaensis Gagnepain (1931: 679), which is distributed in China and Vietnam (Chen et al. 2009).

Anoectochilus longilobus is similar to A. zhejiangensi and A. chapaensis, but differs from the former in having much bigger leaves and flowers and a straight spur with an acute angle between lip and from the later in having a cylindrical spur; it is distinguished from both by having longer, obliquely ligulate obcuneate, truncate epichile lobes.
Type:—CHINA. Yunnan: Malipo, Mt. Laojun 1550 m, in forests, 28 July 2006, Jiang 04240 (holotype KUN!)